Vegucated: The Vegan Alternative

May 24, 2013

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Sponsored by Alumni Relations, American Studies, CAMS, SHAC and SUMO, film producer and Carleton alumni Demitrius Bagley ‘92 gave a screening of his documentary “Vegucated” on Tuesday, May 5th. Created in 2011, the film explores the difficulties of converting to a vegan diet. It follows three New Yorkers who try to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks.

The film won seven awards, including Best Documentary, Toronto Independent Film Festival, 2011, Chris Award For Best Educational Film, Columbus International Film & Video Festival Best Food Issue, Cinema Verde Environmental Film and Arts Festival, 2012, Official Selection, Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital, 2012, Official Selection, UK Green Film Festival, 2012.

Vegucated was put on in the Weitz, and was followed by a discussion about the challenges of following a vegan lifestyle, and what it means to eat sustainably and compassionately. During the talk, Bon Appetit, the Just Food Co-op, and the Vegan Baking Club provided healthy, vegan snacks for students to sample.

Carleton students had mixed opinions on the documentary. Many praised its positive presentation of veganism, particularly on Carleton’s campus, but some students were split on the message of the film.

“A lot of vegucated was about veganism as the solution to all of our health problems, and I don’t think that’s true. I think veganism has a place as long as our food system is so messed up, but I don’t think eating animal products is unnatural,” said Drew Higgins ‘16.